I refer to last week’s
letter “Address stigma of mental illness early on” by reader Kwan Jin Yao in
MediaCorp’s TODAY newspaper, and fully agree with his views.
People with a mental
illness need the same understanding and support given to people with a physical
illness. A mental illness is no
different-it is not an illness for which anyone should be blamed.
Mental illnesses cause a
great deal of suffering to those experiencing them, as well as their families
and friends. Furthermore, these problems appear to be increasing. According to
the World Health Organisation, depression will be one of the biggest health
problems worldwide by the year 2020.
The social stigma attached
to mental illness remains the biggest obstacle in getting sufferers of mental
illness to come forward for treatment.
There are very few enlightened employers in Singapore who will hire
recovering psychiatric patients, and unfortunately, many people do not declare
that they have a mental illness for fear of being unable to secure that
much-need job. A job that can help pay
for their medications and treatment. A
job that can help them reintegrate into society. And most certainly, a job that gives them a
sense of worthiness.
If ex-convicts are given
second chances, then why can’t recovering psychiatric patients be given the
same opportunities to rebuild their lives?
We must create an environment where everyone has a place in society. Where
everyone feels wanted.
I know of patients who hide
in the toilet to take their medications because they are worried that if their
colleagues or bosses find out that they are suffering from mental illness, they
may either lose their jobs or their careers are frozen.
It will be helpful if there
is an award system at a national level to recognise enlightened employers who
are prepared to hire recovering psychiatric patients.
As the late Mother Theresa
once: “The biggest disease in the world today is not leprosy or tuberculosis,
but the feeling of being unwanted.”
Raymond Anthony Fernando
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